Last night the TSA granted a temporary stay of its new policy allowing small knives to be carried aboard planes, which would have taken effect this Thursday (April 25).

The TSA wasn't available for comment last night when news of the switcheroo broke, so it's not clear how long a delay the agency is anticipating. Flight attendant unions that had fought the policy were quick to take credit, including the Flight Attendants Unions coalition, which has a website to rally support for its cause: noknivesonplanes.com.

Politicians had also jumped on the bandwagon—after all, who wants to be seen as supporting knives on planes?—and Massachusetts Representative Edward Markey noted that the Boston bombings had made the timing of the TSA move particularly problematic. "We have a duty to our citizens" to keep knives of any length off planes, Makey said.

The delay means that other paraphernalia the policy would have permitted (ski poles, golf clubs, and toy bats) are still barred from airplane bins.